Ventilated mattress and bed comprising ventilated mattress

ABSTRACT

A ventilated mattress for a bed minimizes the leakage of external air, having flowed in from the outside, through a portion other than ventilation holes, and thus has improved ventilation performance.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a mattress having improved ventilationperformance and a bed including the mattress.

BACKGROUND ART

A bed provides comfort and convenience during sleep, and typicallyconsists of a bed frame and a mattress.

In a typical mattress, the temperature is maintained according to thetemperature of a bedroom when a user sleeps. Since the temperature ofthe bedroom is high in summer, the temperature of the mattress is alsoincreased, whereas in winter, the temperature of the mattress isreversely lowered.

That is, in summer, the temperature of the mattress rises so that theuser feels the heat, and in winter, the user feels the cold. In order tosolve this problem, a cool mat providing a cold feeling to the user insummer, and a heated mat and an electric heat mat providing warmth tothe user in winter have been installed on top of the mattress.

When using a cool mat or a heated mat installed on top of a mattress,the user's body comes into contact with the cool mat or heated mat, notthe mattress. Therefore, there is a disadvantage in that the comfort andconvenience provided by the mattress itself are reduced.

Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Registration No. 5960669 discloses anair-conditioning bed in which a blower is installed on a bed frame onwhich the mattress is placed without installing a configuration such asa cool mat or a heated mat on the top of a mattress and which isequipped with a temperature control device for selectively heating orcooling the air transported by the blower. According to the documentabove, it is possible to provide a user with a cold feeling or warmthregardless of the temperature of the bedroom while providing the comfortand convenience of the mattress itself. However, before the airtransported by the blower passes through the mattress and is deliveredto the user, the air leaks through the side of the mattress, so thatthere is a disadvantage in that the amount of air actually delivered tothe user is not large.

In order to solve the above disadvantages, Korean Patent RegistrationNo. 10-1913785 discloses a configuration in which a bottom part made ofa non-air permeable material is disposed on the lower of a mattress sothat the air transported from a blower is discharged only through aventilation portion. However, this also has a problem in that asufficient amount of air is not delivered to be perceived by the user.

Accordingly, the need for a ventilated mattress and a bed in which asufficient amount of air can be discharged from the surface of themattress to be felt by the user while maintaining the comfort andconvenience provided by the mattress, is growing.

PRIOR-ART DOCUMENTS

-   Japanese Patent Registration No. 5960669 (Aug. 2, 2016)-   Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1913785 (Oct. 25, 2018)

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

According to the present invention, the present invention provides aventilated mattress and a bed including the ventilated mattress, inwhich, as the upper part and the side part of the mattress excludingventilation holes are covered by a second fabric layer made of a non-airpermeable material, external air having flowed in from by a blowingdevice does not leak but is discharged only through the ventilationholes and thus ventilation performance can be improved.

In addition, the present invention also provides a ventilated mattressand a bed including the ventilated mattress, in which, as the diameterof a first ventilation hole of the ventilation holes is smaller than thediameter of a second ventilation hole, external air passing through thefirst ventilation hole is dispersed in multiple directions when externalair is discharged to the outside through a second ventilation hole sothat a blowing area can be increased.

In addition, the present invention also provides a ventilated mattressand a bed including the ventilated mattress, in which, as a spring isinstalled between a lower frame and a first fabric layer and an interiorspace is formed, air balance can be achieved in the inner space so that,even when external air is discharged through an arbitrary ventilationhole, the external air with the same pressure can be delivered to auser.

In addition, the present invention also provides a ventilated mattressand a bed including the ventilated mattress, in which cool air and warmair can be selectively transported to one or more of the left and rightparts of a bed mattress through flow path conversion in the blowingdevice.

Technical Solution

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided amattress having an inlet hole 180 formed in a lower part thereof and aplurality of ventilation holes 150 formed in an upper part thereof, themattress including: a lower frame 110 having the inlet hole 180 therein;a first fabric layer 120 being spaced apart from an upper surface of thelower frame 110 by a preset distance and having an inner space S formedbetween the lower frame 110 and the first fabric layer 120; a secondfabric layer 130 disposed to surround upper and outer surfaces of thefirst fabric layer 120, an outer surface of the inner space S and anouter surface of the lower frame; and a foam layer 140 disposed on thesecond fabric layer 130, wherein the plurality of ventilation holes 150are formed while vertically penetrating the foam layer 140, the secondfabric layer 130, and the first fabric layer 120, and external airflowed in through the inlet hole 180 is discharged through the innerspace S and the plurality of ventilation holes 150.

The ventilation holes 150 may include: a first ventilation hole 151penetrating the first fabric layer 120 and the second fabric layer 130;and a second ventilation hole 152 vertically aligned with the firstventilation hole 151 and penetrating the foam layer 140, and a diameterof the first ventilation hole 151 may be less than a diameter of thesecond ventilation hole 152.

A center point on a cross section of the first ventilation hole 151 anda center point on a cross section of the second ventilation hole 152 maybe vertically aligned.

The second fabric layer 130 may be formed of a non-air permeablematerial.

The second fabric layer 130 may include: a lower layer 131 formed ofpolyester (PE); an intermediate layer 132 stacked on the lower layer 131and made of polyurethane (PU); and an upper layer 133 stacked on theintermediate layer 132 and made of a mixed material of PE and PU.

The mattress may further include a plurality of springs 160 installed inthe inner space S and supporting the first fabric layer 120.

The mattress may further include a third fabric layer 170 having a meshstructure installed on the foam layer 140.

The mattress may further include a topper 200 detachably installed onthe third fabric layer 170, wherein the topper 200 may include: a firsttopper fabric layer 210 having a mesh structure contacting the thirdfabric layer 170; a topper foam layer 220 stacked on the first topperfabric layer 210 and made of an air permeable material; and a secondtopper fabric layer 230 stacked on the topper foam layer 220, andexternal air passing through the plurality of ventilation holes 150 isdischarged to the outside through the second topper fabric layer 230.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda bed including: the mattress 100 according to the above-describedembodiments; and a blowing device 300 installed in the inlet hole 180 ata lower part of an outside of the mattress 100, inhaling external airand discharging the inhaled external air into an inner space S of themattress 100, wherein the blowing device 300 may include: a body 310having an inlet 311 through which the external air is inhaled, and anoutlet 312 through which the external air inhaled into the inlet 311 isdischarged; a blower 320 installed in the body 310 and generating a flowof external air from the inlet 311 to the outlet 312; and a hollow duct340 extending from the outlet 312 and combined with the inlet hole 180,wherein the duct 340 may include: a connection portion 341 communicatingwith the outlet 312; and a first discharge passage 342 and a seconddischarge passage 343 branching from the connection portion 341, and theblowing device 300 may further include a flow path conversion portion350 installed in the duct 340 and being movable to allow the connectionportion 341 to communicate only with one of the first discharge passage342 and the second discharge passage 343 or all of the first dischargepassage 342 and the second discharge passage 343, and external airinhaled by the blowing device 300 may be discharged through theplurality of ventilation holes 150 of the mattress 100.

The blowing device 300 may further include a heater 360 installed in theduct 340 and heating external air toward the mattress 100, wherein theflow path conversion portion 350 may be installed in the duct 340 and iscloser to the outlet 312 than the heater 360.

The connection portion 341 may include a first connection portion 341 athat narrows as it moves away from the outlet and a second connectionportion 341 b that widens as it moves away from the first connectionportion 341 a, and the flow path conversion portion 350 may include: aflow path conversion member 351 extending from a center of the heater360 toward the outlet 312; and a driving member 353 moving the flow pathconversion member 351 to allow the connection portion 341 to communicateonly with one of the first discharge passage 342 and the seconddischarge passage 343 or all of the first discharge passage 342 and thesecond discharge passage 343, and a length of the flow path conversionmember 351 may be greater than a length from a center of the heater 360to a connection point of the first connection portion 341 a and thesecond connection portion 341 b.

A first position recognition portion 353 may be installed in the flowpath conversion member 351, and a second position recognition portion344 that is activated to generate an electrical signal when a distancebetween the first position recognition portion 353 and the secondposition recognition portion 344 is less than a preset distance, may bedisposed on both outer surfaces, the top or bottom surface of the firstconnection portion 341 a.

The heater 360 may include: a first heater 361 provided between theconnection portion 341 and the first discharge passage 342; and a secondheater 362 provided between the connection portion 341 and the seconddischarge passage 343 and being operable independently of the firstheater 361.

The blowing device 300 may further include: an input portion 370 intowhich blowing temperature and an operation command to selectively blowair to one or more of left and right sides of the mattress are input;and a controller 380 controlling operations of the driving member 352and the heater 360 according to the command input into the input portion370, wherein the controller 380 may control the driving member 352 togenerate an electrical signal in the second position recognition portion344 among a plurality of second position recognition portions 344determined according to the operation command.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda blowing method using the bed according to the above-describedembodiment.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda program stored in a computer-readable recording medium to execute theblowing method.

Effects of the Invention

A ventilated mattress and a bed including the ventilated mattressaccording to the present invention have the effects, in which, as theupper part and the side part of the mattress excluding ventilation holesare covered by a second fabric layer made of a non-air permeablematerial, external air having flowed in from by a blowing device doesnot leak but is discharged only through the ventilation holes and thusventilation performance can be improved.

In addition, as the diameter of a first ventilation hole of theventilation holes is smaller than the diameter of a second ventilationhole, external air passing through the first ventilation hole isdispersed in multiple directions when external air is discharged to theoutside through a second ventilation hole so that a blowing area can beincreased.

In addition, as a spring is installed between a lower frame and a firstfabric layer and an interior space is formed, air balance can beachieved in the inner space so that, even when external air isdischarged through an arbitrary ventilation hole, the external air withthe same pressure can be delivered to a user.

In addition, cool air and warm air can be selectively transported to oneor more of the left and right parts of a bed mattress through flow pathconversion in the blowing device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view for describing a bed equipped with a mattress, atopper, and a blowing device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ of FIG. 1 so asto describe an internal structure of the bed shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of FIG. 2 for describing the configuration offirst through third fabric layers and a foam layer.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views of the bed of FIG. 1 from the side.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views for specifically describing the blowing deviceinstalled in the bed of FIG. 1 .

FIGS. 8 to 10 are views for specifically describing the blowing device,FIG. 8 is a view for describing that external air inhaled by a blower isdischarged through all of a first discharge path and a second dischargepath, FIG. 9 is a view for describing that external air inhaled by theblower is discharged only through the first discharge path, and FIG. 10is a view for describing that external air inhaled by the blower isdischarged only through the second discharge path.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are views for describing verification experiments forverifying blowing excellence of a bed according to the present inventionand the result thereof.

MODE OF THE INVENTION

In some cases, well-known structures and devices may be omitted or shownin the form of a block diagram focusing on key functions of eachstructure and device in order to avoid obscuring the concept of thepresent invention.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to “comprising orincluding” a certain component, it does not exclude other componentsunless otherwise stated, meaning that other components may be furtherincluded. In addition, terms such as “ . . . unit”, “ . . . group”, and“module” described in the present specification mean a unit thatprocesses at least one function or operation, which may be implementedas hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software. Inaddition, “a or an”, “one”, “the” and similar related terms in thecontext of describing the present invention (in particular, in thecontext of the following claims) may be used in a sense including boththe singular and the plural unless indicated or clearly contradicted bythe context.

In describing the embodiments of the present invention, if it isdetermined that a detailed description of a well-known function orconfiguration may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the presentinvention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. Inaddition, the terms to be described later are terms defined inconsideration of functions in an embodiment of the present invention,which may vary according to intentions or customs of users andoperators. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contentthroughout the present specification.

Hereinafter, the term “external air” refers to a fluid that is inhaledinto a blowing device and is discharged through a ventilation holes byan operation of a blower of the blowing device, and may be air outside abed in an example.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a bed 400 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention includes a mattress 100, a topper 200, and a blowingdevice 300.

First, the mattress 100 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention will be first described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 .

The mattress 100 is configured to be installed at a frame of the bed400, includes a layer of cushioning material, and provides comfort andconvenience to a user.

The mattress 100 according to the present invention is installed andspaced apart from the ground by a predetermined distance by a legportion 101 installed in the lower part. The blowing device 300 isinstalled in space between the mattress 100 and the ground, and adetailed description of the blowing device 300 is provided below.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the mattress 100 according to the presentinvention has an inlet hole 180 formed at the bottom and a plurality ofventilation holes 150 formed at the top. The blowing device 300 to bedescribed later is installed in the inlet hole 180, and the blowingdevice 300 inhales external air and discharges the inhaled external airto the outside through the plurality of ventilation holes 150. A usersits on top of the mattress 100 (i.e., the user is lying on top of themattress), and external air passing through the ventilation holes 150contacts the user to deliver a cold feeling or warmth.

Referring back to FIG. 2 , the mattress 100 according to the presentinvention will be described in detail.

The mattress 100 includes a lower frame 110, a first fabric layer 120, asecond fabric layer 130, a foam layer 140, ventilation holes 150, aspring 160, a third fabric layer 170, and an inlet hole 180.

The lower frame 110 serves to support components stacked on top of themattress 100 at the lower part of the mattress 100.

The lower frame 110 includes a first lower frame 111 and a second lowerframe 112.

A plurality of first lower frames 111 are provided, and are arranged inparallel while being spaced apart from each other by a predetermineddistance. In one example, the plurality of first lower frames 111 may bemade of wood.

A plurality of second lower frames 112 are also provided, and arearranged in parallel while being spaced apart from each other by apredetermined distance. The parallel arrangement direction of the secondlower frames 112 is different from the parallel arrangement direction ofthe first lower frames 111, and in one example, the second lower frames112 may be arranged in parallel in a direction perpendicular to theparallel arrangement direction of the first lower frames 111. In oneexample, the second lower frames 112 may be made of polypropylene (PP).

The first fabric layer 120 is spaced apart from the upper surface of thelower frame 110 by a predetermined distance. As the first fabric layer120 is spaced apart from the lower frame 110 by a predetermineddistance, a predetermined inner space S is formed between the firstfabric layer 120 and the lower frame 110.

The second fabric layer 130 is disposed on the first fabric layer 120,and the foam layer 140 is disposed on the second fabric layer 130. Theventilation holes 150 are a configuration formed while verticallypenetrating the foam layer 140, the second fabric layer 130, and thefirst fabric layer 120.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the second fabric layer 130 includes a lower layer131, an intermediate layer 132, and an upper layer 133.

The lower layer 131 is a configuration for increasing the thickness ofthe second fabric layer 130 and preventing breakage, and may be made ofpolyester (PE) in one example. The second fabric layer 130 is in contactwith the upper surface of the first fabric layer 120, and a portion incontact with the upper surface of the first fabric layer 120 is thelower layer 131 of the second fabric layer 130.

The intermediate layer 132 is disposed on the lower layer 131 and isconfigured to adhere to the lower layer 131 and the upper layer 133 toeach other. In one example, the intermediate layer 132 may be made ofpolyurethane (PU).

The upper layer 133 is disposed on the intermediate layer 132 and ismade of a non-air permeable material. In one example, the upper layer133 may be made of a mixed material including polyester andpolyurethane.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the second fabric layer 130 is disposed to surroundthe upper and outer surfaces of the first fabric layer 120, the outersurface of the inner space S and the outer surface of the lower frame110. To this end, the second fabric layer 130 may extend to surround aportion of the lower surface of the lower frame 110, and is fixed to thelower frame 110 by a separate fixing member (not shown).

As described above, the second fabric layer 130 includes an upper layer133 made of a non-air permeable material. Thus, external air introducedthrough the inlet hole 180 needs to pass through the inner space S andthe ventilated holes 150 to be discharged to the outside. External airis not leaked to the side and bottom of the mattress 100 by the secondfabric layer 130, and may be discharged to the outside only through theventilation holes 150, so that external air passing through theventilation holes 150 has a faster speed and is delivered to the user.

The foam layer 140 is disposed on the second fabric layer 130, and asdescribed above, the ventilation holes 150 are formed through the topand bottom. The foam layer 140 may be made of any material havingcertain strength and restoring force so as to provide comfort andconvenience to the user.

The ventilation holes 150 are formed while vertically penetrating thefoam layer 140, the second fabric layer 130, and the first fabric layer120.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the ventilation holes 150 include a firstventilation hole 151 formed while vertically penetrating the secondfabric layer 130 and the first fabric layer 120, and a secondventilation hole 152 formed while vertically penetrating the foam layer140.

According to the present invention, the center point on the crosssection of the first ventilation hole 151 and the center point on thecross section of the second ventilation hole 152 are vertically aligned,so that external air passing through the first ventilation hole 151immediately passes through the second ventilation hole 152 and isdischarged to the outside.

In addition, the diameter of the first ventilation hole 151 may besmaller than that of the second ventilation hole 152. Due to the aboveconfiguration, when external air passing through the first ventilationhole 151 is discharged to the outside through the second ventilationhole 152, external air is discharged while being dispersed in multipledirections as shown in FIG. 3 . From the user's point of view, anadvantage that external air inhaled by the blowing device 300 maycontact a wider body area is achieved.

The spring 160 is installed in the inner space S. The lower portion ofthe spring 160 is connected to the lower frame 110, and the upperportion of the spring 160 is disposed to be connected to the firstfabric layer 120, thereby supporting the first fabric layer 120.

A plurality of springs 160 are provided, and in an embodiment of thepresent invention, the plurality of springs 160 may be Bonnell springsin which all of them are connected. Referring to FIGS. 2, 4, and 5 , thesprings 160 in another embodiment of the present invention may beindependent springs each having an independent form.

The springs 160 have a predetermined elastic force, and thus, thesprings 160 support the first fabric layer 120 and at the same timeabsorb shock.

As the springs 160 are installed in the inner space S, external airinhaled by the blowing device 300 flows into the inner space S toachieve pressure equilibrium. External air having the same pressure isdisposed over the entire area of the inner space S, and thus, externalair having the same pressure may be applied to the user even whenexternal air is discharged through any ventilation hole 150.

A third fabric layer 170 is disposed on the foam layer 140. The thirdfabric layer 170 has a plurality of mesh structures. The mesh structureis a so-called net-like structure, in which a structure with a pluralityof holes is repeatedly formed.

As the third fabric layer 170 is formed of a plurality of meshstructures, external air passing through the ventilation holes 150 isdischarged to the outside through holes inside the mesh structure of thethird fabric layer 170.

The third fabric layer 170 actually contacts the user's body, and theuser receives a cold feeling or warmth from external air passing throughthe third fabric layer 170.

The outer surface of the second fabric layer 130 is covered by thefourth fabric layer 191, and in one example, the fourth fabric layer 191may be made of silk.

In addition, the bottom surface of the mattress 100 according to thepresent invention is covered by the fifth fabric layer 192, the outersurface of the mattress 100 is covered by the sixth fabric layer 193,and the fifth fabric layer 192 and the sixth fabric layer 193 may bemade of any material.

That is, when the mattress 100 according to the present invention isviewed from the outside, the upper portion of the mattress 100 iscovered by the third fabric layer 170, the lower portion of the mattress100 is covered by the fifth fabric layer 192, and the side portion ofthe mattress 100 is covered by the sixth fabric layer 193.

The bed 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention mayfurther include a topper 200 disposed on the mattress 100.

The topper 200 may be detachably provided on the mattress 100 andincludes a first topper fabric layer 210, a topper foam layer 220, and asecond topper fabric layer 230.

In order to be attached to the mattress 100, a separate first couplingmember (not shown) may be formed in the lower portion of the topper 200,and a second coupling member (not shown) to be coupled to the firstcoupling member may be formed on the upper portion of the mattress 100corresponding thereto. The first coupling member and the second couplingmember may be, for example, a sealing tape. However, embodiments of thepresent invention are not limited thereto, and any configuration capableof coupling the mattress 100 and the topper 200 to each other may beapplied.

The first topper fabric layer 210 is configured to contact the upperportion of the mattress 100 and may include a plurality of meshstructures similar to the third fabric layer 170.

The topper foam layer 220 is disposed on the first topper fabric layer210 and may be made of an air permeable foam material in one example.

The second topper fabric layer 230 is disposed on the topper foam layer220 and is a portion that directly contacts the user's body, and in oneexample, may have a plurality of mesh structures or may be manufacturedof an air permeable material.

As the topper 200 has air permeability, external air inhaled by theblowing device 300 and discharged through the ventilation holes 150passes through the third fabric layer 170 and the topper 200 to bedelivered to the user.

The blowing device 300 serves to inhale external air and discharges theinhaled external air into the inner space S of the mattress 100, and aheater 360 is installed inside the inner space of the blowing device 300and may selectively heat external air discharged into the inner space Saccording to an input command.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 , the blowing device 300 is installed underthe mattress 100 while being spaced apart from the ground by apredetermined distance.

A duct 340 of the blowing device 300 is installed through the mattress100, one end of the blowing device 300 is fixed, and the other end ofthe blowing device 300 is supported by a leg portion 301 from theground.

The duct 340 is installed through the lower frame 110 of the mattress100, so that external air discharged from the duct 340 may be directlyintroduced into the inner space S of the mattress 100. As a method forfixing the duct 340 to the mattress 100, any fixing method may beapplied, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 , the blowing device 300 according to thepresent invention includes a body 310, a blowing device 320, a flow pathforming housing 330, a duct 340, a flow path conversion portion 350, aheater 360, an input portion 370, and a controller 380.

The body 310 is a part forming the exterior of the main body of theblowing device 300, and has a lower part and a part of the side partopened. The open lower part of the body 310 corresponds to an inlet 311,and the open side part corresponds to an outlet 312.

A filter f is detachably installed in the inlet 311. Foreign substancessuch as dust included in external air inhaled into the inlet 311 by theoperation of a blower 320 may be filtered by the filter f, and the usermay be provided with fresh external air from which the foreignsubstances are filtered.

The blower 320 and the flow path forming housing 330 are installedinside the body 310.

The blower 320 is configured to generate a flow of external air from theinlet 311 of the body 310 toward the outlet 312. To this end, the blower320 includes a fan, and the flow of external air is generated accordingto rotation of a fan.

The flow path forming housing 330 is formed outside the blower 320 toform a flow path through which external air introduced into the inlet311 is discharged through the outlet 312. One side of the flow pathforming housing 330 is formed to surround the outside of the blower 320while spaced apart from the outer surface of the blower 320 by apredetermined distance, and the other side of the flow path forminghousing 330 is connected to the outlet 312. Therefore, external airintroduced from the inlet 311 by the operation of the blower 320 passesthrough the flow path formed by the flow path forming housing 330 and isdirected toward the outlet 312.

One side of the duct 340 is connected to the outlet 312 of the body 310,and the other side of the duct 340 passes through the mattress 100 andis connected to the inner space S. Therefore, external air passesthrough the inlet 311, the flow path, the outlet 312, and the duct 340and is supplied to the inner space S of the mattress 100.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 , the duct 340 includes a connection portion341 connected to the outlet 312, a first discharge passage 342 and asecond discharge passage 343 branching from the connection portion 341,respectively. Although FIG. 6 illustrates that the duct 340 has twodischarge passages, the duct 340 may also have one or three or moredischarge passages.

Inside the duct 340, a heater 360 for heating external air passingthrough the duct 340 is installed, and a flow path conversion portion350 is disposed at the front end of the heater 360 (closer to the outletthan the heater).

By the movement of the flow path conversion portion 350, the connectionportion 341 communicates with only one of the first discharge passage342 and the second discharge passage 343, or all of the first dischargepassage 342 and the second discharge passages 343.

Referring to FIGS. 8 to 10 , the flow path conversion portion 350includes a flow path conversion member 351 and a driving member 352.

The connection portion 341 includes a first connection portion 341 athat narrows as it moves away from the outlet 312, and a secondconnection portion 341 b that is connected to the first connectionportion 341 a and widens as it moves away from the first connectionportion 341 a.

The flow path conversion member 351 is formed to extend from the centralportion of the heater 360 (in one example, an extension portion mayextend from the central portion of the heater, and the flow pathconversion member may extend from the extension portion). The length ofthe flow path conversion member 351 is greater than the length from thecentral portion of the heater 360 to a connection point between thefirst connection portion 341 a and the second connection portion 341 b.The flow path conversion member 351 is rotated by the driving member352, and when the flow path conversion member 351 is rotated at apredetermined angle or more, the flow path conversion member 351 comesinto contact with the left inner surface or the right inner surface ofthe first connection portion 341 a. When the flow path conversion member351 comes into contact with the left inner surface or the right innersurface of the first connection portion 341 a, the connection portion341 communicates with only the discharge passage (when the flow pathconversion member 351 comes into contact with the left inner surface,the second discharge passage, when the flow path conversion member 351comes into contact with the right inner surface, the first dischargepassage) corresponding to a position where the connection portion 341comes into contact. As the flow path conversion member 351 is configuredto have the above-described length, external air discharged from theoutlet 312 may be discharged only through the discharge passagecommunicating with the connecting portion 341 without leaking to otherdischarge passages.

The driving member 352 is connected to the flow path conversion member351 and is configured to provide a driving force for rotation of theflow path conversion member 351. In one example, the driving member 352may be a motor, and the flow path conversion member 351 may rotate usinga portion connected to the driving member 352 as a rotation axis.

The heater 360 is installed at the rear end of the flow path conversionportion 350 and is configured to heat external air passing through theheater 360. The heater 360 includes a first heater 361 provided on theside of the first discharge passage 342 and a second heater 362 providedon the side of the second discharge passage 343 and operableindependently of the first heater 361.

As the first heater 361 and the second heater 362 are operableindependently, various modes can be implemented.

In a state in which the first discharge passage 342 and the seconddischarge passage 343 are all in communication with each other throughthe connection portion 341, the heating operation of any one heater isstopped so that only external air passing through any one dischargepassage is heated, and heated external air may also be provided to onlyone of the left or right side of the mattress 100 by activating theheating operation of the other heater. In addition, in a state in whichthe connection portion 341 communicates with only one discharge passage,unheated external air or heated external air may be discharged to theoutside of the mattress 100 through turning on/off the heating operationof the heater located in the corresponding discharge passage.

The input portion 370 is configured to input blowing temperature ofexternal air discharged from the blowing device 300 and an operationcommand to selectively blow air to one or more of the left and rightsides of the mattress 100. The input portion 370 may be provided in theform of, for example, a touch panel, or may be provided with a pluralityof input buttons.

The controller 380 is installed in the body 310 and configured tocontrol the operation of the blowing device 300 (an operation of theblower, an operation of the heater, an operation of the driving member,etc.) according to the operation command input through the input portion370.

The operation of the driving member 352 using the controller 380 will bedescribed in detail with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10 .

A first position recognition portion 353 is disposed in the flow pathconversion member 351, and a second position recognition portion 344that is activated to generate an electrical signal when a distancebetween the first position recognition portion 353 and the secondposition recognition portion 344 is less than a preset distance, isdisposed on both outer surfaces, the top or bottom surface of the firstconnection portion 341 a.

A situation in which a command to blow air only through the firstdischarge passage 342 is input to the input portion 370, is assumed. Thecontroller 380 controls the blower 320 to operate, and controls thedriving member 352 so that the flow path conversion member 351 comesinto contact with the left inner surface of the first connection portion341 a. At this time, the controller 380 rotates the flow path conversionmember 351 until an electrical signal is generated from the secondposition recognition portion 344 disposed on the left inner surface ofthe first connection portion 341 a. The fact that the electrical signalis generated by the second position recognition portion 344 disposed onthe left inner surface of the first connection portion 341 a means astate in which the distance between the first position recognitionportion 353 and the second position recognition portion 344 of the flowpath conversion member 351 is less than a predetermined distance (morespecifically, a state in which the first position recognition portionand the second position recognition portion are in contact with eachother). Therefore, it is possible to rotate the flow path conversionmember 351 to a position corresponding thereto according to a commandinput to the input portion 370.

Validation Experiment

An experiment was conducted to verify the superiority of the blowingperformance of the bed according to the present invention.

An experiment was conducted to measure the speed of external airdelivered to an actual user by using a meter for measuring wind speed(a) at the top of the topper 200 in a state in which the mattress 100according to the present invention is combined with the topper 200, and(b) at the top of the mattress 100 in a state in which the mattress 100is separated from the topper 200 while changing the rotation speed ofthe blower for supplying external air to the mattress i) in the mattress100 according to the present invention equipped with the blowing device300 and ii) in a mattress according to the related art.

As shown in FIG. 11 , the wind speed was measured at 20 positions (4×5)of the top of the mattress 100 or the top of the topper 200,respectively, and the results shown in FIG. 12 were obtained.

As a result of the experiment, in the mattress according to the relatedart, effective data was not measured by a measuring instrument disposedon the mattress because air from the blowing device leaked through theside of the mattress before being delivered to the upper surface of themattress or due to air resistance.

That is, in a mattress structure according to the related art, even ifexternal air is provided from the bottom of the mattress through theblowing device, external air is not discharged to the extent that theuser at the top of the mattress recognizes it.

On the other hand, in the bed according to the present invention, evenif the blower 320 rotates at a speed of 280 RPM, the average speed of1.57 m/s was obtained at 20 positions and external air was discharged,and it was possible to obtain the result that outside air was dischargedwith an average speed of 0.06 m/s even if the topper 200 is combinedwith the top of the mattress 100.

Meanwhile, the American Society for Air Conditioning and Refrigeration(ASHRAE) defines still air as wind having a speed of 0.15 m/s or less.

According to the present invention, even if the blower 320 is rotated ata low speed, it was confirmed that external air is discharged with aspeed exceeding 0.15 m/s at the top of the mattress 100, and it wasconfirmed that external air is discharged with a speed exceeding 0.15m/s when the blower 320 is rotated at a high speed (e.g., 590 RPM) evenif the topper 200 is combined with the top of the mattress 100.

As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that in the mattressstructure according to the related art, the air transported from theblower leaks to the outside before it is delivered to the top of themattress, or the air transported to the user lying on the top of theactual mattress is not delivered due to air resistance.

In addition, in the mattress 100 structure according to the presentinvention, it was confirmed that the air transported from the blower isdelivered with a speed fast enough to be recognized by the user lying onthe top of the mattress 100, and furthermore, it was confirmed that theair was delivered with a speed high enough to be recognized by a userlying on top of the topper 200 even if the topper 200 is combined withthe top of the mattress 100.

A blowing method according to an embodiment of the present inventiondescribed above may be implemented in the form of program instructionsthat can be executed through various computer means and recorded in acomputer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may includeprogram instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or incombination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may bespecially designed and configured for the present invention, or may beknown and available to those skilled in the art of computer software.Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include magneticmedia such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical mediasuch as CD-ROMs and DVDs, magneto-optical media such as floptical disks,or hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute programinstructions, such as ROM, RAM, and flash memory, and the like. Examplesof program instructions include not only machine language codes such asthose generated by a compiler, but also high-level language codes thatcan be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. Thehardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one ormore software modules to carry out the operations of the presentinvention, and vice versa.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the following claims.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   100: mattress    -   101: leg portion    -   110: lower frame    -   111: first lower frame    -   112: second lower frame    -   120: first fabric layer    -   130: second fabric layer    -   131: lower layer    -   132: intermediate layer    -   133: upper layer    -   140: foam layer    -   150: ventilation holes    -   151: first ventilation hole    -   152: second ventilation hole    -   160: spring    -   170: third fabric layer    -   180: inlet hole    -   191: fourth fabric layer    -   192: third fabric layer    -   193: sixth fabric layer    -   200: topper    -   210: first topper fabric layer    -   220: topper foam layer    -   230: second topper fabric layer    -   300: blowing device    -   301: leg portion    -   310: body    -   311: inlet    -   312: outlet    -   320: blower    -   330: flow path forming housing    -   340: duct    -   341: connection portion    -   341 a: first connection portion    -   341 b: second connection portion    -   342: first discharge passage    -   343: second discharge passage    -   344: second position recognition portion    -   350: flow path conversion portion    -   351: flow path conversion member    -   352: driving member    -   353: first position recognition portion    -   360: heater    -   361: first heater    -   362: second heater    -   370: input portion    -   380: controller    -   400: bed

1-16. (canceled)
 17. A mattress having an inlet hole formed in a lowerpart thereof and a plurality of ventilation holes formed in an upperpart thereof, the mattress comprising: a lower frame having the inlethole therein; a first fabric layer being spaced apart from an uppersurface of the lower frame by a preset distance and having an innerspace formed between the lower frame and the first fabric layer; asecond fabric layer disposed to surround upper and outer surfaces of thefirst fabric layer, an outer surface of the inner space and an outersurface of the lower frame; and a foam layer disposed on the secondfabric layer, wherein the plurality of ventilation holes is formed whilevertically penetrating the foam layer, the second fabric layer, and thefirst fabric layer, and external air flowed in through the inlet hole isdischarged through the inner space and the plurality of ventilationholes.
 18. The mattress of claim 17, wherein the ventilation holescomprise: a first ventilation hole penetrating the first fabric layerand the second fabric layer; and a second ventilation hole verticallyaligned with the first ventilation hole and penetrating the foam layer,and a diameter of the first ventilation hole is less than a diameter ofthe second ventilation hole.
 19. The mattress of claim 18, wherein acenter point on a cross section of the first ventilation hole and acenter point on a cross section of the second ventilation hole arevertically aligned.
 20. The mattress of claim 17, wherein the secondfabric layer is formed of a non-air permeable material.
 21. The mattressof claim 20, wherein the second fabric layer comprises: a lower layerformed of polyester; an intermediate layer stacked on the lower layerand made of polyurethane; and an upper layer stacked on the intermediatelayer and made of a mixed material of polyester and polyurethane. 22.The mattress of claim 17, further comprising a plurality of springsinstalled in the inner space and supporting the first fabric layer. 23.The mattress of claim 17, further comprising a third fabric layer havinga mesh structure installed on the foam layer.
 24. The mattress of claim23, further comprising a topper detachably installed on the third fabriclayer, wherein the topper comprises: a first topper fabric layer havinga mesh structure contacting the third fabric layer; a topper foam layerstacked on the first topper fabric layer and made of an air permeablematerial; and a second topper fabric layer stacked on the topper foamlayer, and wherein external air passing through the plurality ofventilation holes is discharged to an outside through the second topperfabric layer.
 25. A bed comprising: the mattress of claim 17; and ablowing device installed in the inlet hole at a lower part of an outsideof the mattress, the blowing device being configured to inhale externalair and discharge the inhaled external air into the inner space of themattress, wherein the blowing device comprises: a body having an inletthrough which the external air is inhaled, and an outlet through whichthe external air inhaled into the inlet is discharged; a blowerinstalled in the body and generating a flow of external air from theinlet to the outlet; and a hollow duct extending from the outlet andcombined with the inlet hole, wherein the duct comprises: a connectionportion communicating with the outlet; and a first discharge passage anda second discharge passage branching from the connection portion,wherein the blowing device further comprises a flow path conversionportion installed in the duct and being movable to allow the connectionportion to communicate only with one of the first discharge passage andthe second discharge passage or all of the first discharge passage andthe second discharge passage, and wherein the external air inhaled bythe blowing device is discharged through the plurality of ventilationholes of the mattress.
 26. The bed of claim 25, wherein the blowingdevice further comprises a heater installed in the duct and configuredto heat external air toward the mattress, wherein the flow pathconversion portion is installed in the duct and is closer to the outletthan the heater.
 27. The bed of claim 26, wherein the connection portioncomprises a first connection portion that narrows as the connectionportion moves away from the outlet and a second connection portion thatwidens as the second connection portion moves away from the firstconnection portion, and the flow path conversion portion comprises: aflow path conversion member extending from a center of the heater towardthe outlet; and a driving member that moves the flow path conversionmember to allow the connection portion to communicate only with one ofthe first discharge passage and the second discharge passage or all ofthe first discharge passage and the second discharge passage, andwherein a length of the flow path conversion member is greater than alength from a center of the heater to a connection point of the firstconnection portion and the second connection portion.
 28. The bed ofclaim 27, wherein a first position recognition portion is installed inthe flow path conversion member, and a second position recognitionportion that is activated to generate an electrical signal when adistance between the first position recognition portion and the secondposition recognition portion is less than a preset distance, is disposedon both outer surfaces, the top or bottom surface of the firstconnection portion.
 29. The bed of claim 28, wherein the heatercomprises: a first heater provided between the connection portion andthe first discharge passage; and a second heater provided between theconnection portion and the second discharge passage and being operableindependently of the first heater.
 30. The bed of claim 29, wherein theblowing device further comprises: an input portion into which blowingtemperature and an operation command to selectively blow air to one ormore of left and right sides of the mattress are input; and a controllerconfigured to control operations of the driving member and the heateraccording to the command input into the input portion, wherein thecontroller controls the driving member to generate an electrical signalin the second position recognition portion among a plurality of secondposition recognition portions determined according to the operationcommand.
 31. A blowing method using the bed of claim
 27. 32. Anon-transitory computer readable medium storing a program that, whenexecuted by a computer, causes the computer to execute the blowingmethod of claim 31.